What Replacement Spring do I Need to Replace My Orange Coded Spring for Enclosed Trailer Door?

Published 01/21/2025

Question:

I am replacing the lift assist system on my 8.5x16 enclosed trailer 8 ft interior height. The current spring in the trailer is a single spring color coded orange. Will this m354fr be the right replacement for my trailer?

asked by: Tim

Expert Reply:

Hello Tim,

I am happy to get you into the right spring, but we need to know the weight of the door. You mentioned that the one you are replacing is "orange coded" but the issue is that there is not a real standard and companies use different colors for different weights. I would hate to get you set up with one that is too strong or too weak. Getting the weight is not as hard as you think. All you need to do is open the door and lay it down on a bathroom scale. Yes, it is that easy. Once we get that weight, we can get you the right part number.

I greatly appreciate your time, and look forward to hearing back from you.

expert reply by: Kate F

Tim

1/21/2025

I think i sent my reply to the feedback instead of here. In order to weigh the door I would have to release the spring on the door now and also the ground is loaded with snow and bath scale will not work in the snow and it is not going to melt anytime soon in single digit weather. Your question and answer forum says that orange is 70/170/270 pounds. Your videos says that when it is a double spring it doubles the lift. I'm going from an single orange to a double spring does that mean the one I inquired about has 2 60lb springs or does it have 2 120lb dprings?

Kate F.

1/21/2025

@Tim I feel your pain with the snow, we still have it all over the place here in Missouri. With the dual spring they are not rated individually, we have to look at it as a whole unit and what the whole unit is rated for. If you took off one of the springs it doesn't mean it would still work on a 60 pound door. Knowing that the different companies use different color codes I would personally not go off of the "color chart". I did see the answer you referenced and reached out to our head trainer, he too said you would need to weigh the door. If you wanted to go off of the color chart that would mean that your door had a 70 pound lift assist, so the # M354FR would work great. But I still cannot fully recommend the spring without the actual weight of the door, if you catch my drift =)

Tim

1/21/2025

@KateF Ok thanks for the help I was trying to get a jump on getting it replaced but I guess I will wait till I weigh it